Lily on the Edge
by DracoCharizard87
Summary: Draco cleans up Lily's hut while she takes the group out shopping. Little do they know that Lily was not being her usual self.
1. Chapter 1: Cream the Rabbit

**DRAGON HEROES**

Picking up where the last story left off, Draco is about to face the ordeal of cleaning up Lily's hut while she and the others are going shopping, least that's what they thought. There's going to be some surprises and twists in this story, so get ready! As I mentioned in the previous story, Baby's Day Out, this one is also an idea suggested to me by my friend BlueMario1016, though only a small part of it, namely the bit when Draco cleans Lily's hut.

* * *

 **Lily on the Edge  
**

 **Chapter 1 – Cream the Rabbit  
**

Draco watched the morning sun rise as he contemplated yesterday's turn of events. After coming up with the plan for Lily to go as a baby in disguise to rescue her baby cousin Flora from the Pyre Squad, he now owed her the favour of fixing up her hut, which he imagined was going to be a lot of hard work.

As headed to the kitchen, Draco could see Darky watching television and having his breakfast. He was enjoying the cute magical horse cartoon. Bowser was nowhere in the hut, which made Draco assume that he might be outside. Darky focused on the television, not noticing that his Charizard brother was up making his cereal. It was then when Draco joined in that he finally noticed.

"Morning, Draco," he said. "Did you have a good sleep?"

"Yeah, fairly much," replied Draco. "I'm still not really keen on having to do all that cleaning up for Lily."

"Talk about a major bummer," said Darky.

"It just isn't fair," grumbled Draco. "Just because I suggested that she poses as a baby to save Flora without falling into the Pyre Squad's trap, she got mad at me for it! It was really the only solution to the situation back there yesterday!"

"Don't feel too bad about it, Draco," soothed Darky. "We at least got Flora back to her family, and while Lily can have a temper, which I never expected from a girl who's always positive and cheerful, she is still nice and does her best to make us feel better whenever we're feeling down."

Draco took Darky's words with a lot of thought. They had known Lily for months, and so far her positive traits outweighed the negative, The Charizard smiled and nodded in agreement, and then he continued eating his cereal while watching the television.

Presently, there was the sound of the Tornado landing near the village. Draco and Darky knew that it was Tails, which meant that they were about to meet the new visitor Blaze told Cynder about.

All the dragons came out of their huts to greet their arrivals. In no time, they could see Tails and Blaze, back in their usual clothes, making their way to the village, and following them was a beautiful female rabbit wearing a t-shirt and long pants. Accompanying her were two cute tiny creatures. One was light blue with yellow tips, pink wings, a red bow tie, and a yellow round orb floating on the tip of its head. The other was a white with blue tips on its head, hands, feet, and tail, yellow tips on its wings, a pink bow tie, and a blue halo floating on its head. It looked similar yet different to its blue counterpart.

"Hello, everyone," greeted Tails. "We're glad that you're up at this hour, because here is Cream the Rabbit, and she will be visiting for the day."

"Good morning, dragons," said Cream politely. "My name is Cream, and I am pleased to meet all of you."

"Nice to meet you, Cream," greeted Cynder. "I am Cynder, and over here are my friends Draco, Jakkin, Percival, Lily, Torden, Bowser, and Darky."

"How are you?" asked Bowser. "My, it really is a pleasure to meet such an incredibly cute little bunny rabbit like you, Cream."

Tails and Blaze winced as they knew that Cream does not like to be called cute by anyone else but her mother.

"Uh, thanks for the compliment, Bowser," said Cream awkwardly. "But there's something you need to know, um, a bunny can call another bunny 'cute,' but when other animals do it, it's a bit, uh…"

Bowser gasped in shock. "Oh, crud, I'm really sorry for that!" he said as he blushed with embarrassment. "Where are my manners? Here I am stereotyping you, and to think that I've been mislabelled all those years back, ugh!"

"No, it's perfectly fine," assured Cream. "You just didn't know."

"Hey, what's with those little guys on your shoulders?" asked Torden.

"Oh, these are my Chao," replied Cream. "This blue one right here is my closest friend Cheese, and this one is a Hero Chao, and his name is Butter."

"Chao!" greeted Cheese and Butter.

The dragons smiled. Tails then checked his watch.

"Well, it looks like I better hurry back to the lab," he said. "Blaze and Cream, may you stay safe, and to the rest of you guys, show her around the park."

"Okay, Tails," said Blaze. "See you when you get back, my love."

"No problem, Tails!" called the dragons. "We'll try to give Cream a real treat!"

Tails nodded in approval. He then got back on the Tornado to start up the engine. The Tornado whirred loudly and it took off into the sky. Everyone watched as it disappeared over the horizon.

"So, what shall we do now, my friends?" asked Cream.

"I've got an idea," said Lily before anyone else could speak up. "There's a shopping mall up north in the city of Nagoya. I'm gonna take you, Blaze, Cynder, and Percival out to the place while Draco will be staying here to fix up my hut!"

Draco groaned as he wanted to join in on the shopping fun with his friends, but he remembered that he promised as part of his repayment to Lily.

"Meh, Torden and I are goin' to do our sparrin' session," said Jakkin. "We won't be missin' much on what you guys will be doin' for the day."

"Let me join in on the fighting, you two," said Bowser.

"Excellent, we can take turns together," smiled Torden.

"How long will you be back from your shopping, Lily?" asked Draco. "I need to know so that your hut will be in top shape by the time you head."

"Oh, we'll be back soon," said Lily. "Now be a good boy, and get busy, Draco. You'll find the list of the chores to do in my room."

"As you wish," replied Draco.

"Come along now, guys!" said Lily impatiently. "I'll show you where this shopping mall is. You are going to be in for a pleasant surprise."

"Oh, I love surprises!" exclaimed Cream. "I can hardly wait to see it!"

"Well, let's get going," said Blaze, and together, the five made their way into the forest. As they were walking, Percival looked back to see Draco sighing dejectedly. He thought it was both unfair and unusual of Lily to single him out like that, and he began to wonder what has come over her. With no other choice, Percival quickly hurried to catch up with his friends.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I couldn't resist making another reference to Zootopia with Bowser and Cream's dialogue. That really got me some chuckles, hahaha!


	2. Chapter 2: Housekeeping Hassle

**Chapter 2 – Housekeeping Hassle  
**

As the two dragons watched the group disappear into the forest, Draco sighed even more as he was not looking forward to what was to come. He then turned around to Lily's hut, knowing he would have to get started with the cleaning up right away.

"Well, here goes nothing," he said to himself.

Bowser came to his side, noticing that he was feeling down.

"Are you alright, Draco?" he asked.

"I'm fine," replied Draco. "Just that it's going to be a lot of work for me to get Lily's hut in shape."

"It must be because you felt that you didn't deserve being given so many chores to do," said Bowser as he gently rocked the Charizard's head. "Draco, I know this may seem difficult, but once you get started, it will become less difficult for you, and you're at least trying to be helpful and useful to your team."

"Thanks for the pep talk, Bowser," said Draco. "I guess I'll be able to the get the job done before they come back."

"Yep, it will be all over before you know it," said Bowser. "I was going to do the cleaning up myself when I stopped by briefly back when you met the Kremlings, but I didn't since I had no idea how Lily was going to arrange her stuff, and I wouldn't want to infuriate her if she couldn't find anything."

"I understand that," said Draco.

"Hey, Bowser!" called Torden. "Aren't you coming to spar with us?"

"In a minute!" replied Bowser, and he turned back to Draco. "Okay, I better get going to do some sparring with Torden and Jakkin. Just keep your head up, stay positive, and get Lily's hut cleaned up. I'm sure she will appreciate it."

"I'll try," replied Draco as he watched the big Koopa make his way to meet up with the two dragons.

"Tell you what, Draco," said Darky. "I'll keep you company while you're doing the chores for Lily. That way, you won't feel lonely."

Draco smiled. "I'm glad you're still here, Darky," he said. "At least it would keep the work from being so dull."

So Draco and Darky made their way into Lily's hut. Inside, they could see that there were plenty of things to organise. Lily was unable to do the work herself since their vacation in Hawaii, which was then followed by the situation with Flora.

"Lily said she has the list of chores somewhere in her room," said Draco as he made his way upstairs to the bedroom. He could see that it was rather unorganised as there were clothes lying all over the floor, with some on the bed. Soon, they noticed a piece of paper on the drawers. Draco reached out to pick it up.

"Aha!" exclaimed Darky. "This must be the list!"

"It most certainly is," said Draco. "Now, let's see what it says there."

The list had quite a number of tasks. Draco read through it thoroughly, and afterwards, he looked at Blue, and nodded as he decided to start with the chore that was listed on top. The two dragons took a look at the closet, and they were quite shocked at how much clothes, bedsheets, and other of Lily's belongings needed to be organised.

"Whoa, Draco!" gasped Darky. "Cleaning up the closet would probably take us a long time!"

"Yeah, no kidding," said Draco. "But it must be done. If you want to help, that would definitely make the job a bit easier."

"Alright, sounds good," said Darky. "Let's just not tell Lily about that."

Draco and Darky set to work taking out all what was crammed inside Lily's closet and then put them back in an orderly fashion. After a short while, the two finally had everything in place, so they moved on to organising her clothes, which took longer than they had anticipated. Eventually, Darky felt tired, so after he finished helping Draco arrange Lily's clothes, he decided to take a rest. Draco was left to do the rest of the work on his own.

The work was starting to become exhausting and tedious, so Draco decided to switch on his smartphone and listen to some of the Nightriders' heavy metal music in the process. Even while he was listening to their hits, he still found vacuuming the floors to be very hard work as she expected him to clean every nook and cranny of her hut.

"Man, this is really too much," he grumbled to himself. "Normally I am a shy and timid dragon, but this job pressures me off the edge! I have to vacuum her room, wash the dishes in the kitchen, dust the hallways and then I gotta make lunch of her and the others… Oh, man, she is killing me with this! And even worse, I have to clean up not only the two floors, but also the basement!"

Draco continued to vacuum the hut as he moved the vacuum cleaner up to Lily's room, which proved to be difficult due having to go up the stairs, lifting up certain furniture to be able to clean underneath them, and then going back down once the room was done.

"This music rocks!" said Darky as he air guitar to the songs playing on Draco's smartphone.

"Yeah, it sure is," Draco sighed, wishing he could join in the fun, but knew that he could not until he had finished all of the chores. "Maybe the baby act wasn't the best idea after all, but Lily was the one who suggested it, which gave me the thought of having her pose as a baby. I never thought that the end result would have me repaying a lot of favours, but I guess what's done is done…"

Just then, Draco could hear laughter coming from outside. He turned around to look out the window, and there he saw Torden and Jakkin laughing and pointing their claws at him. They found it very amusing to see the Charizard engaged in girly activities.

"Pretty thing like you could make a very good housewife!" chuckled Torden, and he blew kisses at Draco.

"Shut up, you two," fumed Draco. "You wouldn't be laughing if you were in my position! Besides, I'm only doing this because Lily wanted me to return the favour of her posing as a baby when we were trying to rescue her little cousin!"

"You probably should have considered a different plan so that you wouldn't have to be cleaning up like a pansy!" laughed Torden.

"Alright, you two!" shouted Bowser. "That's enough teasing for now! Aren't we going to continue our sparring?"

"Of course, Bowser," replied Torden and Jakkin sheepishly, and they backed off while Bowser went to the window to see Draco.

"Don't mind them," he said. "They're just being silly."

"Yeah, I know," replied Draco. "Still, it would be nice to just do something fun instead of all this cleaning up."

"At least you're doing a wonderful job trying to make Lily's hut spick and span," continued Bowser as he stifled a laugh. "You can come and watch us spar when you're done."

"I'll give that a thought," said Draco. "Thanks, Bowser."

Bowser nodded with a smile and he returned to join Jakkin and Torden. He wondered when the rest of the group will return since Lily gave no exact time earlier when they left.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Foreshadowing that something big is about to happen with Lily. Wait until the next chapter to see what happens!


	3. Chapter 3: Lost in the Forest

**Chapter 3 – Lost in the Forest  
**

Percival started to feel uneasy as Lily led the group into a dark, bleak misty forest. He began to wonder if she even knew exactly where they were going as they have been travelling for such a long time, and he was very sure that they could have gone to Nagoya a lot faster if they flew, so he could not understand why Lily insisted that they go on foot.

"Um, excuse me, Lily," said Percival. "Wouldn't it make much more sense if we just flew to Nagoya to do our shopping? I mean, all of us could fly, so there really is no need to do all that walking."

"Are you doubting me, Percival?" asked Lily. "You should have complete trust in me, because I know what I'm doing."

"I hate to take sides, Lily, but Percival may be right," said Blaze. "First of all, we've been exploring this forest for like, an hour now, and we don't seem to be going anywhere, and second, all of us can fly since I have the power to levitate and Cream can use her long ears aside from the rest of you having wings, so if we have flown, we'd be shopping at Nagoya at this time."

"That is so true, Blaze," said Cynder. "We can do a lot better than just strolling around in circles as goodness knows where we are going."

Lily could hardly contain her anger, and she turned around glaring at her friends. "I'm not going to repeat this again!" she snapped suddenly. "We're going to walk through this forest whether you like it or not, and that's final!"

Blaze, Cynder, and Percival were taken back at Lily's sudden outburst. They were shocked as they never expected her to behave like that before.

"As you say, Lily," they finally conceded.

"Good," replied Lily. "Now stop your whining, and let's keep moving!"

Everyone followed her without saying a word. Cream felt very worried. Blaze had told her earlier that Lily was a playful and cheerful, but what she just saw was not what she had expected.

"Blaze," she whispered nervously. "I'm scared…"

"Chao-chao," whispered Cheese as he nuzzled Cream to comfort her.

"What has gotten into Lily all of a sudden?" asked Percival in a quiet tone. "This is certainly not like her."

"I know, Percival," replied Cynder softly. "It's like as if she has woken up in the wrong side of the bed or something."

"This is starting to become very fishy," continued Percival. "First Lily demands Draco to clean up her hut, and then she brings us to go with her to wherever this place is to do shopping, only for us to be in the middle of the woods."

"Yes, this is rather suspicious," said Blaze. "But let's not act too hasty until Lily reveals her intentions."

So Cynder, Percival, Blaze and Cream continue to follow Lily through the trail, but they were still worried. Lily, on the other hand, smirked as she watched the four walking behind her.

"Heh, those fools aren't suspecting a thing," she whispered devilishly to herself. "As soon we reach the darkest part of the forest, they'll be in for a surprise that they'll never know what hit them!"

 _"Excellent work, my slave,"_ said a voice in Lily's mind. _"You have kept Draco, Torden and Jakkin distracted so that those misguided cretins will become easy prey!"_

"They'll be there soon, Princess Ash," replied Lily in a monotone voice, her expression suddenly dull.

 _"Make sure they are all grouped together so that you can lay the coup on them!"_ ordered Ash. _"The others will come next once they're finished!"_

"As you wish, my princess," said Lily.

"Uh, Lily, who are you talking to?" asked Percival.

Lily suddenly snapped back from her trance. "Oh, uh," she said hastily. "Nothing at all, you guys. Come on, we'll be there in no time."

"Are you sure?" asked Cynder. "This area doesn't really look safe to me."

"Of course, I'm sure!" hissed Lily. "It's a shortcut!"

"Alright, alright," said Percival. "Let's not get into any more arguments."

The group continued on their way until they eventually came into a part of the forest that was very dark and gloomy. Ahead, they could see a murky swamp which made bubbling sounds. It looked rather dangerous.

"This way, you guys," said Lily as she leapt over the stepping stones. "We shall be getting closer to our destination."

Blaze, Cynder, Percival, and Cream looked awkwardly at each other, but knew that they had no other choice but to follow Lily across the swamp. One by one, they leapt on each stepping stone, keeping their balance so they won't fall in. Soon, they all managed to get across. Cynder, Percival, Blaze, and Cream panted nervously while Lily looked at them with no sympathy.

"What's the matter with you, guys?" she fussed. "This is really easy!"

"It may be for you," groaned Percival. "But it is not for us."

"You're all such wimps," scoffed Lily. "And I'm even more disappointed in you, Percival, and you're a guy, yet you can't handle what we have to get across!"

"Lily, what a thing to say!" exclaimed Cynder, indignantly. "You should know better than to fall back on stereotypes! What has gotten into you?"

Lily paused for a moment and saw Percival's hurt expression. She quickly came to her senses and chuckled with embarrassment.

"Oh, my," she said hastily. "I don't really know what has come over me. I guess maybe it's probably that thing we females go through from time to time. Really, I was only kidding! Just jokes, come on, laugh! Let's just forget about it and hurry further into the forest! Nagoya City should be nearby!"

Chuckling enthusiastically, Lily pranced along while the others were still confused at her sudden bursts of anger before returning to her jovial self.

"Would somebody please tell me what is going on?" asked Percival. "Lily is really acting weird lately."

"Maybe we'll find out once we get to Nagoya City," said Blaze. "No point sitting around."

* * *

Lily led the group into what seemed like a dead end. She looked around as if she was trying to find a possible route. The others were starting to have enough.

"Enough of the suspense already!" grumbled. "Seriously, Lily, just tell us where exactly are we going?"

But Lily said nothing as she had her back facing the group. This infuriated her friends even more, for they have been travelling through an unfamiliar and potentially part of the forest, yet they seem to be going nowhere at all.

"Hello?" Cynder persisted. "Earth to Lily, we need to know where you're really taking us!"

 _"They're about to figure you out, Lily,"_ Ash spoke through her mind. _"The time has come. All of them have to be eliminated."_

"Understood, my princess," droned Lily, and she turned around to face them. The group became very uneasy as she gazed blankly at them.

"Lily?" asked Percival. "Is there something wrong?"

Cynder assessed the situation, and it did not take long for her to realise that there was something going on with Lily. It was something not quite right, and her suspicions were quickly confirmed when the pink dragoness raised her arm up, preparing to strike the unwary Percival.

"Look out, Percival!" she shouted.

Confused, Percival looked up to see Lily with her paw up, and when he realised what she was about to do, he quickly dodged her attack just in time.

"Whoa!" he exclaimed. "Lily, what are you doing?"

Blaze and Cream gasped in shock at what they just saw, but Blaze soon figured out that there really was something wrong with Lily as she saw her laughing maliciously.

"My dear friends," began Lily. "You are all so naïve to believe that I would take out shopping. Well here's some news for you, I really wasn't."

"What are you talking about?" asked Cynder. "I can tell that you're not the true Lily at all!"

An evil grin crossed Lily's face. "Of course, I am Lily," she replied. "But first, let me tell you that I was really going to lure you into a trap so I can finish you off for good!"

"No, you can't be her!" declared Cynder. "Are you an impostor? If so, then what have you done with the real Lily? Where is she?"

"If I knew where she is, I would have told you," snorted Lily. "But if you really want to know who I am, well, let me give you a hint, remember the Hawaiian Tournament?"

"Yes, we do," said Percival. "But I don't know what that has got to do with you trying to attack us!"

"Ha! All of you are such misguided saps!" laughed Lily. "There's an old friend of ours who we met back there, and she is really eager to see you altogether before I destroy you all for her."

"D-destroy us?" gulped Cream. "What old friend?"

"I think I know who it is," said Blaze, sensing a familiar dark presence drawing near.

Lily turned around and spread her arms out. "Oh, Princess of Darkness!" she droned. "Come forth and reveal yourself to them!"

"The Princess of Darkness?" asked Cynder. "No, it can't be!"

The wind started blowing fiercely as a dark figure emerged. It drew closer and closer until it was fully visible. In an instant, the figure was revealed as a white Albino Twilight Storm with markings similar to Cynder. It was Princess Ash.

"Long time no see, fools!" she sneered. "Bet you're all happy see your mighty princess!"

"Princess Ash!" exclaimed Blaze, Cynder, and Percival.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Uh-oh, it seems that there really is something wrong with Lily. What could Ash be planning for our friends? Find out soon!


	4. Chapter 4: Ash's Curse

**Chapter 4 – Ash's Curse**

"Greetings, Your Highness," droned Lily as she bowed to Princess Ash. "I'm at your service."

"Spare me all that for later, my slave," snorted Ash. "We've got some business to take care right this minute!"

"So you have something to with Lily's unusual behaviour!" hissed Cynder. "What have you done with her? Bring her back to normal!"

"Oh, but Cynder, my loathsome black counterpart," said Ash. "Lily seems so happy to serve me and my cause, but if you want to know how, well, you remember that I'm the daughter of the Dark Queen, right?"

"Yes, I haven't forgotten about your heritage," replied Cynder, but then she remembered something. "Wait a minute, you mean you have?"

"You are guessing correctly," said Ash. "Just like my mother, I have the ability to control people's minds, only that they are in full consciousness."

"Still, there's something I don't get," said Percival. "How did you manage to control Lily? I don't recall seeing you anywhere since the day of the Hawaiian Tournament."

"My dear friends," said Ash. "I don't need to be within your sight just to be able to take control of one of you. You see, I've been secretly following you since that very day. I witnessed you meeting those crocs on Molokai Island, and I've followed the fox's jet plane to Japan."

"You did what?" asked Blaze, feeling very annoyed at the thought that they were stalked.

"I said I've been watching you since the tournament in Hawaii," replied Ash. "I've been plotting my revenge on Cynder, and the first phase was by using my mind control curse on Lily. Of course, she couldn't sense it, and neither could you see it, because my spell is practically invisible!"

"Well, that explains everything," said Cynder. "But does that mean that the whole shopping at Nagoya thing was a ruse?"

"You guessed it, Cynder," said Ash, uttering an ugly cackle. "And I saw to it that Draco, Torden, and Jakkin can't be able to help you by forcing Draco to clean up Lily's hut and leaving Torden and Jakkin to their own devices. That way, all of you can be easy for me to dispose of."

"I should have figured it out that there was something unusual about Lily not allowing Draco, Torden, and Jakkin to come with us," growled Cynder. "Of course, Draco was just trying to make up to Lily for posing as a baby when they were rescuing her little cousin from the Pyre Squad."

"That's what I wanted you to think!" laughed Ash. "When Draco made that suggestion to Lily, I knew that I had the perfect opportunity to execute my plan! So after the ordeal with the baby dragoness, I was able to convince him through Lily that he had to repay the favour of cleaning her hut so as to keep him busy and unable to help!"

"You are absolutely vile, Ash," said Cynder with disgust.

"Why, thank you," replied Ash. "And now, it is time for us to finish you off for good. Then we're going to go after the rest in the village next, and finally nothing can stop me from achieving my ultimate goal to conquer the world!"

"Oh no, you won't!" declared Cynder. "You're not going to get away with this!"

"But I will!" cackled Ash. "My revenge will finally be complete!"

"I've beaten you at the tournament, and I can do it again!" hissed Cynder.

"But can you try to lay a finger on me when Lily is now willing to work for me?" asked Ash. "You know deep down that you can't hurt your friends!"

Cynder and the others stood silent, realising that they are in a dilemma as they could not attack Lily. Percival then remembered his Light Brooch.

"Not if I can restore her back to normal!" he said to Ash.

"What do you mean?" asked Ash. "How can you do that?"

"I have my Light Brooch," replied Percival as he took out his brooch. "I used it to cure Bowser when he was controlled by the Dark Queen, so this will work on Lily too!"

But before Percival could activate his brooch, Lily lunged at him, knocking it out of his paw. Ash quickly grabbed the Light Brooch and smirked. Now there was no way Percival could be able to cure Lily now.

"I'm going to be taking this, thank you very much," said Ash. "I might as well take all of your brooches once all of you are dead!"

"Oh, no," groaned Blaze. "We really are in a tight spot now."

"Right you are," laughed Ash. "Enough with this talking, you're all finished! Lily, destroy those two dragons, and that cat and bunny!"

"I will do as you command, my princess," replied Lily, and she advanced on the group with her claws out.

"Lily, don't do this!" pleaded Percival. "We're your friends, remember?"

"Stop this at once, Lily," said Cynder. "You know you're better than this, and I could still tell that you're in there somewhere, so you have to fight it!"

But the pleas proved to be useless as Lily lunged towards the group and started attacking. Ash stood watching the fight ensue, smirking as the group tried to defend themselves against their friend.

"Lily, please stop!" grunted Blaze.

"We need a plan, and fast," said Cynder as she dodged Lily's tail. "It needs to be some kind of plan that doesn't involve hurting Lily in the process."

"Yes," replied Percival. "But how can we do that? Ash has my Light Brooch, and we're going to need a lot more help in order to get it back!"

"Wait, that's it!" exclaimed Blaze. "One of us will have to go to the village and fetch the rest of the group to help, Draco included!"

"That sounds like a good plan," said Cynder. "I know just who can go and bring our friends here! Percival and Cream, do you think you can head back to the village to get help?"

"I think I can," said Percival. "But are you and Blaze able to hold out against Lily and Ash for long?"

"Yes, we're strong enough to do so," replied Blaze as she deflected Lily's breath attack. "Even so, you're going to have to be quick about it!"

"Okay, then," said Percival. "Unfortunately, I don't know this part of the forest, so I'll be lost trying to find my way to the village and then back!"

"Have no fear, Percival," said Cream brightly. "Cheese and Butter are very good at pinpointing the right directions, so with me tagging along with you, we should be able to reach the village without any trouble!"

"That's good to know, Cream," smiled Percival. "Now, let's hurry back to the village!"

So Percival and Cream slipped silently as quickly as they could. Ash noticed them leaving, so she tried to attack them with her Plasma Burst, but Cynder intercepted it with her own breath attack. She glared angrily at the albino Twilight Storm while Blaze held Lily at bay.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, another battle with the evil Princess Ash is at hand! Hopefully, Percival and Cream will be able to get the rest of the gang and return in time to help Cynder and Blaze!


	5. Chapter 5: Call for Help

**Chapter 5 – Call for Help**

After a few hours of working nonstop cleaning Lily's hut, Draco relaxed on the sofa. He was very exhausted, so he had a drink and listened more of the Nightriders' music while Darky stood next to him.

"That was incredible, Draco," said Darky. "You've managed to clean up the entire house without taking a break, even when you had your phone on playing away the Nightriders."

"Yes, I know," panted Draco. "Still, I only have one more thing left to do on the list, and that is to prepare lunch for everyone. Speaking of which, they should have been back right now from their shopping."

"Now that you mention it, it really has been quite a while," said Darky. "I wonder what has happened to them."

"This is starting to become worrisome," said Draco. "I hope that they're alright."

Just then, there was a knocking sound. Believing it to be them, Draco shut off his smartphone and made his way to answer the door, and when he opened it, he saw Starfire, Salem, and Zippy standing in front.

"Draco!" cheered Salem and Zippy as they hugged the Charizard. "Good to see you again!"

"Well, if it isn't the Dynamos," smiled Draco. "It sure is quite a surprise."

"We'd thought that we could drop by to visit," said Starfire. "Anyway, Draco, where is Cynder?"

"She went out shopping with Lily and Blaze," said Draco. "But they were supposed to be back already, especially when I was about to prepare lunch already."

"Huh, that's odd," said Starfire scratching her forehead. "Maybe you should go look for them. After all, you are Cynder's boyfriend, aren't you?"

"I wish I could, but Lily made me clean up her hut, and that has taken quite a lot out of me," replied Draco. "Since I'm almost done, I could go and find them. They said they were going to shop at Nagoya."

"That's much stranger," said Starfire. "My team just came from Nagoya, and we haven't seen them there at all."

"Say what?" asked Draco.

Dark was speechless.

"Guys, we need your help!" echoed Percival's voice.

This made Draco, Darky, and the Daring Dragon Dynamos focus on the village entrance where they could see Percival running. Cream was catching up too with Cheese and Butter leading the path for them. They all noticed that Percival and Cream have panicked looked on their faces. Torden, Jakkin, and Bowser arrived to see what the commotion was about.

"Percival, Cream!" exclaimed Draco. "What happened? You look as if you've come across something frightening."

"Draco," panted Percival. "It's awful! Lily's been possessed by Ash! That's why she's been acting so funny today and possibly the day before when she made you clean up her hut! It was all a distraction formulated by Ash so that she could ambush us, meaning that the whole thing about shopping was a lie!"

Draco felt his anger swelling. "That albino Twilight Storm again?" he hissed. "How did she get here?"

"Apparently, she followed us after the Hawaiian Tournament," replied Percival. "And she has put Lily under a mind control spell, just like how her mother did to Bowser! My Light Brooch has been taken from her before I could get the chance to cure Lily with it!"

"Ash has taken control of Lily?" asked Torden, feeling just as furious. "That bitch has crossed the line this time!"

"We better do something," said Draco. "Now that I learned the truth, we better go help them out!"

"Percival, where exactly is my big sister?" asked Starfire.

"She and Blaze are in the darkest region of the forest," said Percival. "At this moment, they're fending off Ash while trying to avoid hurting Lily at the same time."

"My two Chao Cheese and Butter can lead you to them," said Cream. "That's how we managed to find our way here, or else we would have been lost."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get a move on and save Lily, Cynder, and Blaze!" urged Torden indignantly and he ran into the forest.

"I'm with you, bud, so wait up!" said Jakkin as he followed Torden.

"Hold on," shouted Cream. "You don't know the way! Cheese and Butter, help us reach Blaze and Cynder!"

"Chao!" replied Cheese and Butter, and together they darted off into the forest to lead the way. Cream, Draco, Percival, Darky, Bowser, and the Daring Dragon Dynamos followed them quickly to catch up with Torden and Jakkin.

* * *

Cynder tried her hardest to take down Ash, but she found that she was unable to beat her easily. Blaze was also struggling to fend off Lily's attacks as she was trying her best not to do any damage to her, but in spite of all her efforts, Lily was able to take advantage of Blaze's reluctance to fight and battered her about.

"Come on, Percival and Cream," muttered Cynder. "Where are you? We can't hold on much any longer."

"Looks like you two are in a bind now," mocked Ash. "Face it already, it's over!"

"No, we're going to keep up resisting, no matter how long it takes!" said Cynder.

"I know what you're doing," said Ash. "You're trying to hold us up so we won't catch up with those two that escaped, well that's not going to make any difference as they'll be our next targets once we're finished with you!"

"That will not happen!" snapped Blaze.

"Yes, it will," replied Ash nastily. "It's time for you to die now, Cynder and Blaze! Lily, destroy them at once!"

Lily nodded and proceeded to use a fully powered breath attack to disintegrate Blaze and Cynder, who huddled each other for dear life. Just when it looked as if it was all over, a fireball flew by and intercepted the attack, exploding it upon collision.

Ash was bewildered. "What was that?" she asked.

At that moment, Draco, Torden, Jakkin, Percival, Bowser, Darky, Cream, and the Daring Dragon Dynamos appeared. Cheese and Butter waved in excitement, content that they have helped them reach the battlefield in time.

"Alright, we made it!" smiled Cream. "Thank you very much, Cheese and Butter!"

The two Chao smiled and bowed in respect. Draco, Torden, and Jakkin glared at Ash, displeased to see her again and causing trouble.

"You're not going to be hurting anyone!" they hissed.

Ash smirked. "So, you have finally decided to come and join in the slaughter," she said. "And I see that you have brought more victims for me to eliminate."

"This ends here, princess!" growled Torden. "You're going to pay for what you have done to Lily!"

"Go ahead and try," laughed Ash. "But I don't think Lily is going to take it well if you strike me down."

The group turned around to see Lily growling menacingly at them.

"Stand back, Dynamos," warned Cynder. "This is going to be rather messy."

"Not a chance, Cynder," said Starfire. "We're going to try to help so we can have at least one good deed fulfilled!"

"The first thing we have to do is free Lily from Ash's control," said Draco.

Cynder suddenly thought of an idea. "Draco, you, Starfire, and Torden try to divert Lily while Jakkin, Bowser, Blaze and I will try to get Percival's Light Brooch from Ash. Once we manage to do so, quickly grab Lily so she can't escape when Percival uses his brooch on her."

"Sounds like a plan that could work," replied Draco. "It may be risky, but there's a chance that we can pull it off."

"Okay, let's get this going!" said Blaze.

"Prepare to die, everyone," said Ash, grinning evilly. "Lily, get them!"

Lily proceeded to lunge towards the dragons, but Draco, Torden, and Starfire managed to get her focused on them while Cynder, Jakkin, Bowser, and Blaze went straight for Ash. The albino Twilight Storm struggled against them, but found that she was unable to fend of four single-handedly. Percival, Cream, Darky, Zippy, and Salem watched anxiously as the raging battle intensified. Cheese and Butter also watched the fight while sitting on Cream's shoulders.

Soon, Jakkin delivered a swift kick at Ash, causing her to lose her grasp on the Light Brooch. Percival rushed forward to grab it, and now that the brooch was in his possession again, he knew what to do.

"Now, you guys!" he called. "Quickly grab Lily, and I'll do the rest!"

"Got it!" called Draco. As soon as Lily was about to attack them again, Draco and Torden dodged her blows and they grabbed her arms. Starfire restrained her wings so she could not fly away. Immediately, Percival rushed in front of Lily and held his Light Brooch directly at her. The brooch started to shine, causing her to squeal in agony as it took effect.

"What? No!" cried Ash. "My evil plan is ruined!"

And it was. Lily was beginning to regain herself, and after the Light Brooch stopped glowing, she looked around in confusion wondering where she was.

"Wha-what is going on?" she said in bewilderment.

"Lily, you're back!" exclaimed Torden.

"Alright!" everyone cheered.

Ash was seething with fury. "This isn't over yet, fools!" she declared. "You may have cured Lily of the spell I casted on her, but I'm far from defeated!"

"Do you really want to push it to that point?" asked Cynder. "All of combined, even Draco, were able to put a stop to your plan, and we won't hesitate to fight together against you!"

Bowser, Draco, and Torden stepped in front to aid Cynder, anticipating for another fight.

Ash sneered. "Not this time," she said. "I'll be back, stronger than ever, and all of you will be defeated!"

With that, Ash let off a Plasma Burst directly to the ground, which caused an explosion that covered the battlefield, blinding the group. Soon, the smoke cleared, and when they regained their vision, Ash was nowhere in sight.


	6. Chapter 6: The Great Feast

**Chapter 6 – The Great Feast  
**

"She's gone," said Torden as he looked around the forest. "Where could she be?"

"It might not really be worth chasing after her," said Cynder. "At least we got Lily back."

This made Torden hurry back to Lily, who was still dazed and confused.

"Lily, are you alright?" he asked.

"I guess so," replied Lily. "I still like to know what has happened, though."

"You've been put under a mind control spell by Ash," said Torden. "She has controlled you back when we were returning from Hawaii. Luckily, with the help of everyone here, including Draco who had been working so hard cleaning your hut, we were able to get you back to normal."

"I'm very glad to be back to my normal self again," said Lily. "And as for you, Draco, I really appreciate that you went through all the trouble to clean up my place."

"It was nothing, really," said Draco. "I only wanted to return the favour since I made you go as a baby when we were rescuing your baby cousin from the Pyre Squad."

"Ah, yes, I remember that," said Lily. "Let's put all that behind us, as it isn't really worth mentioning. The point is that you have at least done something for me."

Just then, a dreadful thought struck Draco. "Oh, snap!" he exclaimed. "I was supposed to get the food ready for lunch, but then I was asked to help out in the battle against Ash!"

"Relax, Draco," assured Lily. "You're not in trouble for not getting that done."

"I'm not?" asked Draco.

"While you may have cleaned up my hut, coming here to free me from and Ash and stopping her more than compensates for what happened yesterday," said Lily. "Besides, I have an even better idea, since we're all a bunch here, let's have a great feast tonight!"

"A feast, you say?" asked Jakkin, licking his lips. "That sounds like a good idea. I'm starvin' and I could with somethin' delicious."

"That won't be a problem, Jakkin," said Lily. "Before we head back home, let's go and do some shopping at Nagoya City for real!"

"You really mean that?" asked Draco.

"Absolutely!" smiled Lily. "You can come with us too, Draco!"

Just then, a wind started blowing, and when a figure emerged in the woods, Cynder quickly recognised it as King Kurotsuki, who was smiling as he greeted them warmly.

"I must applaud you all for your teamwork, everyone," he began. "And for sparing Ash's life, in spite of her wicked deeds, I'm very pleased with you, Cynder."

"Thank you very much, King Kurotsuki," replied Cynder.

"There's something you need to know, everyone," said King Kurotsuki. "Ash is not truly evil. She has been going through some personal demons and still hasn't figured out how to deal with them properly. It will take someone with a strong sense of discipline to show her the way so that she can truly redeem herself."

"I understand," said Cynder. "Still, I could only ask who would be right for that."

"You'll figure it out sooner or later," said King Kurotsuki. "As you already know, this will not be the last time you come face to face with the albino Twilight Storm Princess of Darkness, so you all better prepare yourselves for when the time comes."

"When is that going to happen?" asked Draco.

"I can't reveal any more than what you need to know," replied King Kurotsuki. "Just keep on strengthening your bonds and working as a team, and you'll be successful in every endeavour you have to take."

"We will do our best, King Kurotsuki," said the dragons.

King Kurotsuki smiled and nodded. "Now, I better head off now," he said. "Good day to you all."

Everyone watched as King Kurotsuki turned and walked away, slowly vanishing into thin air as the wind started to blow again before dissipating once he was gone. Then, they consulted together, figuring out their next move.

"So, I believe we should all get started with our shopping now that has passed," said Lily. "Come on, everyone! Let's go!"

"I'm going to let Tails know about our feast so he can join in," said Blaze. "This is going to be one memorable night!"

The group got themselves ready, and this time, they decided to fly to Nagoya. Darky and Salem rode on Draco's back while Zippy decide to ride on Torden. Bowser, on the other hand, decided to return to the village, so Cream offered to guide him back with her two Chao.

* * *

The dragons had a wonderful time exploring Nagoya City and shopping at the malls. They bought all kinds of delicious for them to prepare for the feast, including sushi, onigiri, takoyaki, and so much more. Finally, after spending all afternoon shopping, they were all set to return to the village at the Ise-Shima National Park.

Later, the dragons arrived at the village, and they were so relieved that the day was done. They could see that Tails has already arrived by the Tornado sitting nearby.

"Welcome back, everyone!" said Bowser. "Did you have a good haul?"

"Yes, we sure did!" said the dragons, carrying so many bags of goodies.

"My, what you've selected sure looks like we'll be in for a very succulent dinner," said Tails as he looked at all the food the dragons brought.

"Here, allow me," said Bowser as offered to help take some bags, especially the heavier ones.

Lily went to her hut to check Draco's work, and she was very impressed at what she saw. The living room was neatly organised and the kitchen was spotless. She then went upstairs to see her bathroom shiny and clean, and she checked her bedroom to see that it was cleaned like every other part of her house, with her clothes and belongings in the right place. Her souvenirs she brought from Hawaii were set up accordingly, and the floors were completely free of dust. Lily was pleased.

"Excellent work, Draco," she said. "You have cleaned up every single part of my hut and you put everything in the way I wanted them to be."

"Well, I'm glad that the result matches your expectations," said Draco.

"You don't have to worry about cooking anything," said Lily. "I believe you have done enough, including saving me from Ash."

Draco sighed in relief. "That sure takes a lot out of my back," he remarked.

"You're free to return to your hut or do whatever you feel like after all that," said Lily.

"Thank you very much, Lily!" smiled Draco, and he gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Lily blushed and giggled, feeling as he she had been appreciated for what she has contributed to the team.

* * *

Evening drew close as everyone was getting excited and hungry for the feast. Draco spent some time at Ethan's hut playing arcade games with him. Tails, Darky, Zippy, Salem, and even Bowser joined in on the fun as they all took turns choosing the games and playing through the levels. Torden and Jakkin resumed their sparring outdoors while Cynder, Blaze, Cream, and Starfire watched them and talked about the day.

At last, the feast was ready. A large table had been set up with plenty of seats to spare. Plates and cutlery were neatly organised, and everyone could smell the heavenly aroma that was coming out of Lily's hut. After finishing the preparation of the remaining dishes, Lily jubilantly went outside to grab everyone's attention.

"Dinner is ready!" she announced.

"Alright, food!" everyone exclaimed together.

"I'm going to need some help bringing the grub in," said Lily. "Who wants to chip in?"

"I will!" exclaimed Draco.

"So will we!" said Bowser, Torden, and Jakkin.

"Excellent!" smiled Lily. "Now, let's get them served!"

So Draco, Bowser, Torden, and Jakkin helped Lily with bringing the food out and setting them on the table. Everyone felt their mouths watering as they sniffed at all the dishes being served, including pizzas, dim sums, roast chicken, and so much more. There were also drinks provided for the feast, including fresh milk, much to Bowser's delight.

"My goodness, Lily!" said Percival. "These are some of the yummiest dishes you have ever made for us!"

"I know," said Lily modestly. "I made sure that they catered to everyone here."

"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's dig in!" said Draco as he grabbed a basket of dim sums and several slices of pizza.

The others joined in. While Cynder, Percival, Starfire, Lily, Tails, Blaze, and Cream ate their helpings at a steady pace, everyone else was scarfing down theirs with great gusto. Cream was shocked as she had never seen such a sight like that in all her life.

"Are they always like that?" she asked uncomfortably.

"You'll get used to them in time," replied Tails as he ate a slice of pizza. "They just couldn't help it as they love their food very much."

Blaze chuckled. "I guess they like to eat as if it was the last day of their lives," she said. "That's dragons for you."

"Though not all of us are like that," said Percival.

While everyone continued eating, Cynder looked out to the horizon, thinking very deeply about what King Kurotsuki had said. She does not know anyone else who could be able to show her how to make proper use of her powers, with the exception of Blaze as she was the dragon expert.

"Is there something up, Cynder?" asked Cream.

"No, everything's fine," replied Cynder. "I'm just lost in my train of thought."

"You have plenty of time to do that," said Blaze, picking out a dumpling with her chopsticks. "For now, let's enjoy this glorious feast that Lily has bestowed upon us."

Cynder nodded and resumed eating a fillet of fried fish. As everyone was still enjoying the dinner, Draco and Lily looked at each other and nodded. They have recently gone through trying days, from Lily posing as a baby yesterday and Draco cleaning up her hut today. Now, they felt that they are even at this hour. Their friendship has grown stronger, and they knew that they could finally count on each other whenever they needed help. The two dragons smiled at each other before resuming eating their meals, and they could be sure that more unexpected events were bound to happen in the future.

 **To Be Continued…**

* * *

Well, everything has finally been resolved between Draco and Lily now that she is back to her normal self, being freed from Ash's control. Speaking of Ash, who knows what else she might be plotting, but we won't know until another time when we see her again! Good night, and see you all in the next exciting story of Dragon Heroes!


End file.
